The decision was confirmed by the Iranian Football Federation, IFF, on Friday.

In a statement from the spokesperson for the federation said, “We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are not related to sports, and the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw.”

According to Iranian sports website Varzesh 3, the U.S. denied visas to multiple members of the Iranian delegation, including IFF president Mehdi Taj. Taj publicly condemned the decision as politically motivated, stating on Thursday, “We have told FIFA president Gianni Infantino that this is purely a political stance, and FIFA must urge the U.S. to reverse its actions.”

Despite the visa issues, Varzesh 3 reported that four members of the delegation, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei, were granted visas and will attend the draw scheduled for December 5.

Iran secured its spot in the 2026 World Cup following a successful qualification campaign in March, marking their fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament and seventh overall.

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NIGERIA, GABON SET FOR CRUCIAL WORLD CUP PLAYOFF CLASH

While Iran has yet to advance past the group stages, their historic 2-1 victory over the U.S. in the 1998 World Cup in France remains a defining moment in their football history. The U.S. later defeated Iran 1-0 in the 2022 edition of the tournament.

The ongoing political tension between the U.S. and Iran, which has lasted for more than four decades, has been exacerbated by recent developments. Although high-level nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington began earlier this year, they collapsed in June following Israel’s unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, which escalated into a 12-day conflict.

As co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, the U.S. is at the center of this latest diplomatic dispute, with the upcoming draw set to take place amid these tensions.

Source: Punch

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It added that forces arrested “17 foreign suspects” aboard the vessel, which was found to be carrying “more than two million litres of smuggled fuel.”

Fuel smuggling is a recurring challenge in Iran, where heavy subsidies have kept domestic fuel prices among the lowest in the world.

Iranian authorities regularly announce the interception and seizure of vessels illegally transporting fuel in the area.

Last month, Iranian authorities seized a foreign tanker in the Sea of Oman suspected of smuggling, which state media said was also carrying two million litres of fuel.

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The attackers were members of the Sunni jihadist group Jaish al-Adl, “Army of Justice” in Arabic, based in Pakistan and active in Iran’s southeast, the agency said.

“Three terrorists were killed and two were arrested,” Tasnim said.

Sistan-Baluchistan, which shares a long border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been the site of frequent clashes between security forces and insurgents or smugglers.

The province hosts a significant population from the Baloch ethnic minority, which practises Sunni Islam in a Shiite-majority Iran.

On July 26, gunmen stormed a courthouse in the province’s capital Zahedan, killing at least six people, in an attack that was later claimed by Jaish al-Adl.
In one of the deadliest attacks in the province, 10 police officers were killed in October.

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Asian markets mostly fell, although Chinese stocks were higher, as traders wait to see how Tehran could respond.

One option on the table would be to potentially create economic havoc by seeking to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of global oil output.

Iran is the world’s ninth-biggest oil-producing country, with an output of about 3.3 million barrels per day. It exports just under half of that amount and consumes the rest.

When trading opened on Monday, Brent and the main US crude contract WTI both jumped more than four percent to hit their highest price since January.

They pared these gains and by mid-afternoon in Asia both were up around 1.1 percent.

“So far, satellite images reportedly suggest that oil continues to flow through the Strait, which may explain the muted market reaction to the news,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

“Many remain optimistic that Iran will avoid a full-blown retaliation and regional chaos, to prevent its oil facilities from becoming targets and to avoid a widening conflict that could hurt China, its biggest oil customer.”

But “if things get uglier,” the price of US crude could even spike beyond $100 per barrel, she said. WTI was trading around $75 per barrel on Monday.

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The speech came six days into the conflict, with Trump demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” while boasting the United States could kill Khamenei and fueling speculation about a possible intervention.

The long-range attack began, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.

The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear program in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

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The casualties were from strikes on four sites in central Israel, the MDA said in a statement, adding those killed included “two women and two men around the age of 70, as well as one additional fatality”.

“So far, MDA teams have evacuated 92 injured individuals to hospitals, including a 30-year-old woman in serious condition with facial injuries, six in moderate condition, and 85 in mild condition,” it added.

The MDA said search and rescue operations were ongoing at two of the four sites.

Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early Monday, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned on Monday that Tehran’s residents would “pay the price” for Iranian strikes on Israeli civilians.

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Israel’s operation, which began early Friday, has targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing dozens of people including top army commanders and atomic scientists, according to Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to hit “every target of the ayatollah regime”, and Iran has retaliated with a deadly barrage of missiles.

While Trump had said he was aware of the Israeli operation before it started, he reiterated Sunday morning on his Truth Social platform that the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight.”’

He added that “we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!”

During his first term, a landmark nuclear accord with Iran — negotiated under former president Barack Obama — was torpedoed in 2018 when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States and reimposed sanctions.

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Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf also welcomed the deal which made the Zionist regime fail in achieving its strategic goal.

Read Also: Iran Welcomes End Of Israel ‘Aggression’ In Lebanon — Foreign Ministry

He called for action to punish the criminal regime and heal the wounds of the Palestinian nation.

On Wednesday Qatar and the United States announced a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas.

The truce would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a broader peace deal would be finalised.

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This comes after Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address that he would bring a US-brokered proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon to his government for approval as soon as Tuesday evening.

He did not say how long the truce would last but noted that the length of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon.

Netanyahu had warned that they would strike if Hezbollah violated the agreement and attempted to rearm.

Key Israel backer the United States has led ceasefire efforts for Lebanon alongside France.

Read Also: Iran rejects Western calls to stand down Israel threat

Even as Netanyahu spoke about the ceasefire, the Israeli military carried out multiple strikes on the heart of Beirut while the army said some 15 projectiles had entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.

An Israeli official confirmed demonstrators raise placards and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the Israeli Defence Ministry in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on November 26, 2024, against a possible ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. – Israel’s security cabinet has started discussing a proposed ceasefire deal in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The war in Lebanon escalated after nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah, which said it was acting in support of Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

The war has killed at least 3,823 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.

Authorities said the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians on the Israeli side.

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Israeli police and domestic intelligence said the man was twice smuggled into Iran and received payment to carry out missions.

In a joint statement, they said the suspect was a businessman who had lived in Turkey and had Turkish contacts who had helped get him into Iran.

The announcement comes at a time of soaring tension between Iran and Israel, regional arch-enemies.

The statement said the suspect, who was not identified, was arrested last month. It said his targets were the prime minister, the defence minister and the head of Israel internal security agency Shin Bet.

It said that in April and May, the suspect twice travelled to Samandag in Turkey to meet a wealthy Iranian businessman called Eddie, and was helped by two Turkish citizens.

The statement said Eddie had problems leaving Iran on both occasions, so the Israeli citizen was smuggled from Turkey into Iran instead. It said that the man met both Eddie and an Iranian security operative there.

It said Eddie asked the Israeli to carry out various security missions within Israel for the Iranian regime.

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